UAV Technology: Opportunities to support the updating process of the Rwandan cadastre

Amongst others, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are emerging as a tool for alternative land tenure recording. The advent of low cost, reliable and lightweight UAVs has created new opportunities for collecting timely, tailored and high-quality geospatial information. Even though UAVs appear a promising technology, it is not clear to what extent it can contribute to existing land tenure recording workflows of communities and governments. To address these questions, field data collection was carried out in Rwanda in February 2019, which encompassed several UAV flights and the consultation of relevant stakeholders. Additionally, a participatory mapping pilot study was initiated to allow the comparison of the existing cadastral base data with the boundaries that were delineated on top of the plotted UAV orthophoto. Results revealed a clear discrepancy of the spatial location and extent of both parcel datasets and pinned the need to update the cadastre. It was found that especially in areas with large developments and a poor quality of the first level registration, UAV-based orthophotos provide a profound and reliable base data for participatory boundary delineation to update the spatial extent of the cadastre. This paper is based on the achievements of “its4land”, a European Commission Horizon 2020 project. Grounded on cutting edge approaches such as fit-for-purpose land administration, “its4land” is using strategic collaboration between the EU and East Africa to deliver innovative, scalable, and transferrable ICT solutions that respond to sub-Saharan Africa’s immense challenge to secure land rights.